First, let me thank MrVisible for pointing me to this remarkable talent. Upon your recommendation, I went and bought the Poses CD last night. After listening to it about 4 times so far, I went to Amazon and order his debut, self-titled CD.
So, now to the gushing.
What a marvelous voice, absolutely mesmerizing. The beautiful tone is a sensuous pleasure beyone compare, bordering on sensual. I’ve never heard a man’s voice that melted me inside this way before. This is a sheer auditory pleasure on par with Billie Holliday or Etta James.
The voice is pleasure enough, but then you get to add to that the complex, intelligent lyrics:
And to top it all off, the guy is a visual pleasure, too.
Well I must admit to being a might bit disappointed by Young Mr. Wainwright’s second album (Poses.) IMHO it was okay, but kind of flat.
His first record was absolutely stunning though; really one of the most distinctive, original and entertaining lps from the late 90s. It’s sure to go down in history as one of the few genuinely great records in an otherwise bland and unremarkable era. Count me in as a fan.
I’ve only heard the one song of his off the “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack. I initially didn’t care for it; it sounded like a derivative attempt at a cafe song. Then I was like like ding, that’s the idea, it’s supposed to be an ironic take on a derivative cafe song. Duh. Now I like it.
You are most welcome, Homebrew. Always glad to turn a music-lover on to one of my current obsessions. Let me know if, after a few more spins of the CD, you don’t find yourself trying, desperately, to sing along with the title track. Satisfying and deeply embarrassing at the same time.
And Art is right, in my opinion. The first album is better. So brace yourself.
Homebrew I bow before your obvious superior taste in both music and in men. I first heard of Rufus about 1998, when his first album came out, and I have been in love with it and him ever since. I think it’s his voice. He just has this way of singing that reaches inside of you and just shakes every thing up. Simply wonderful. The intelligence behind his lyrics also makes his work that much more enjoyable.
Homebrew I bow before your obvious superior taste in both music and in men. I first heard of Rufus about 1998, when his first album came out, and I have been in love with it and him ever since. I think it’s his voice. He just has this way of singing that reaches inside of you and just shakes every thing up. Simply wonderful. The intelligence behind his lyrics also makes his work that much more enjoyable.
I also love Rufus. Unfortunately, he doesn’t swing my way–that’s all right though, we can cry together.
Being a pianist myself, I usually appreciate any and all piano work. Unless it sucks. Which Rufus’s doesn’t.
He does some beautiful stuff, that’s for sure. Although I would’ve liked if he’d performed Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with all the original lyrics, he did well with the modified version.
In my suite here at college, we are all given to malaprops and Spoonerisms–so his name became “Wufus Rainwright” one evening.
Otto, Rufus Wainwright III (not to be confused with his famous jazz musician father) apparently grew up in the theater, and as a result a lot of his music has a cabaret feel to it anyway. He is also, let’s face it, a flaming queen. I bet cabaret and theater feel good for him.
Art, there was plenty of good music in the 90’s. There’s always good music around. I don’t believe in dry periods. You must have missed it. Never give up hope!
Isn’t Rufus Wainright the son of Loudon Wainright III? I would hardly call the writer of “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road” a jazz musician. I think he’s more of a folk singer.
Well I certainly didn’t expect THAT song to be called to my attention today!
I am familiar with Rufus Wainright only through the movie Shrek. My children are annoyed because I always rewind the tape and listen to Hallelujah again. Mmmmm, one of my rip a hole in your guts songs. I’m thrilled to learn that his other work is just as stirring! Thanks to Homebrew, and of course Mr. Visible!
My wife and I saw Rufus after his first album came out, at Park West in Chicago. To put it mildly, he has a very barbed sense of humor, a bit like Billy Bragg; no one is really safe. He wears his sexuality on his sleeve, and a few people were apparantly so offended they left.
Also, he described the origins of most of his songs, nearly all of which were absolutely ridiculous. One was about being a dwarf on mount olympus, with warts and “a little dick” (his words, really), who just wanted to be friends with Zeus. Then he turns around and sings this haunting ballad that I’ve listened to a hundred times.
His first album is simply breathtaking, and among my all-time favorites.
I think one of my favorite things about his first album (this is going to sound strange…) is that you can hear him breathing in between lines. Really. I just adds such a raw element to it. Listen to most any other album and you won’t hear this (most vocals nowdays are recorded line by line and spliced together).
I also agree with Kyomara. No dry period in the ninties; it just keeps getting better, I just have to spend more time looking than I used to. To avoid sidetracking, I will hereby avoid dropping names.
Yay! It made me so happy to see this thread in my daily browsings…I too LOVE Rufus. I guess I’m in the minority in that I like Poses considerably more than his first album, but hey. I just wanted to bring something up that hasn’t been already- Rufus appears doing backing vocals on “American Triangle”, one of the songs from Elton John’s new album, Songs From the West Coast. If you didn’t know this already, you’d really appreciate this song a whole lot more being a Rufus fan.
As much as I love Rufus and his music, and I do, honestly, I don’t care for his version of Hallelujah. I’m a HUGE Jeff Buckley fan, and even though I know it’s a Leonard Cohen song, as far as I’m concerned, Jeff took it and made it his own. The man truly had the voice of an angel.
I finally got my copy of his debut album! I can say that I was not disappointed. I can’t say which album I like better, but Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk makes me lean towards Poses.
Hm. His voice annoys me somewhat (in a Bob Dylan-y way). But I love his lyrics, his instrumentals, his politics, and his gahbibbledrool looks. And the fact that he’s from Montreal.
A True Rufus Wainwright Story:
One night I run into my friend Scotty the unbelievable screaming queen of the universe, and somehow Rufus comes up in conversation.
“Oh, I hate him!” kvetches Scotty.
“Why?” I say, puzzled. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Well, he hangs out at Unity [gay bar] a lot, and he always hits on me!”
:eek:
Pearls before swine, indeed! I looked horrorstricken and said, “Well, for pity’s sake, if you don’t want him give him my number!”
I like his mom and aunt (Kate & Anna McGarrigle), too.
